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A big let down - Review of Hyatt Amritsar

A big let down

(Amritsar was the third leg of our trip.
We enjoyed the city and its sights.
We visited the Golden Temple at night when it was devoid of the usual tourist crowd. It was a very spiritual experience to us though we are not Sikhs.
Hotel Hyatt was a big letdown. We had come from staying at boutique (unique) style luxury hotels at Rambagh palace in Jaipur and the Leela Palace at Udaipur so I am aware of the potential for comparison. But objectively as a hotel in a city that is between Jaipur and Udaipur in size (population), with its brand name and a 4.5 star rating, it badly (sadly) failed to live up to expectations.
1. Poor ambience and lack of luxuriousness that is expected of Hyatt/similarly rated hotels.
2. Small rooms with sparse, utilitarian furnishing
3. Heavy sliding doors to the bathroom that has a life of its own due to gravity. My daughter's as well as my fingers were caught in it. (Two different rooms) I did notify the front desk about the dangerousness of the door as I was leaving. They said they would take care of it. I hope they did. I am not sure if this is a random fault of the room because it happened in both our rooms. I hope they fix this problem before someone gets seriously injured.
4. Sub par professionalism of the front desk staff. Though they were generally...(Amritsar was the third leg of our trip.We enjoyed the city and its sights.We visited the Golden Temple at night when it was devoid of the usual tourist crowd. It was a very spiritual experience to us though we are not Sikhs.Hotel Hyatt was a big letdown. We had come from staying at boutique (unique) style luxury hotels at Rambagh palace in Jaipur and the Leela Palace at Udaipur so I am aware of the potential for comparison. But objectively as a hotel in a city that is between Jaipur and Udaipur in size (population), with its brand name and a 4.5 star rating, it badly (sadly) failed to live up to expectations.1. Poor ambience and lack of luxuriousness that is expected of Hyatt/similarly rated hotels.2. Small rooms with sparse, utilitarian furnishing3. Heavy sliding doors to the bathroom that has a life of its own due to gravity. My daughter's as well as my fingers were caught in it. (Two different rooms) I did notify the front desk about the dangerousness of the door as I was leaving. They said they would take care of it. I hope they did. I am not sure if this is a random fault of the room because it happened in both our rooms. I hope they fix this problem before someone gets seriously injured.4. Sub par professionalism of the front desk staff. Though they were generally excellent though our stay I want to bring a small incident to point this out. At the time of checkout after the account was closed and bill paid, the clerk pointed out that there was an outstanding amount of Rs.200 from the minibar in the children's room for a can of almonds. I called out accusingly at my kids "hey who ate the almonds?" When they denied eating the almonds (use anything from the mini bar) I was sure it was a mistake (Knowing them, they always fuss up). This happened in the ear shot of the staff. In better places, at this point, the staff would step up and say sorry it might be a mistake and not restart the billing again for what I would consider an insignificant amount compared to the total amount we spend at this hotel.(And a fraction of what i spend in tips alone during this stay.)Well that was not the case here and he started the billing process all over again. At that point I was a bit disappointed so I said '"Sure I will pay the Rs.200 (@$3.00) but I want you to know I believe my kids!" I think that get the clerk's attention and he said; a bit nonchalantly ok I am not going to bill you. Though the outcome was the same, he missed a step!I know it is...More

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Stayed: July 2013, travelled with family

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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

G M, General Manager at Hyatt Amritsar, responded to this reviewResponded 10 September 2013

Dear Guest,

Greetings from Hyatt Amritsar!

At the onset, would like to thank you for choosing to stay with us and taking out your valuable time to share your feedback. I am extremely sorry for the poor experience that you had during your stay with us. The points highlighted by you are understandably quite disturbing. I have taken a careful note of your comments mainly on bathroom door and overall service experience; necessary steps have been initiated to ensure that such incidents are not duplicated with any of our guests in future. We deeply regret that we fell short in our service and were unable to provide you with the experience we pride ourselves on.

I request you to give us another chance to make up for this experience of yours by visiting us once again and allow us to serve you better, this time.

We all at Hyatt Amritsar look forward to the pleasure of welcoming you back and hearing from you soon.

Best Regards,Bhagwan Balani

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I recently visited this hyatt property in Amritsar for a short overnight stay. With great expectations, as one would have from a Hyatt hotel, I arrived at the hotel at 10 minutes after the check-in time and we were asked to take seats and wait. The people at the front desk had no idea what to do as they seemed to be overloaded and inexperienced to handle weekend traffic. And they simply had no response. two and a half hours later, they gave me my room and when I went up to room it hadn't even been cleaned; there was hair on the pillows, used towels in the bathroom and used teabags lying on the sofa. And the story is just starting. It took them half an hour to get it cleaned.After that ordeal, I was freshening up in my room, someone walked in my room with a key and claimed it was his room. The funny part was that he was sent to wrong room for the second time. But it isn't funny when someone invades your privacy in a hotel especially because of the negligence of the management. They had ONE JOB, just one job after all they had done to the great start to my trip and then they really pissed me off. So I immediately asked for a room change and then they sent someone to change my room to one which was of a downgraded rate and random houses as a view, the exact opposite which I had paid for. It then took them 40 minutes to arrange keys for the new room. The staff including the GM was almost hostile instead of being hospitable. I asked the concierge at night for some nice places to eat around and he started to argue with me that everything shut at 9 (which was obviously not true) and then I figured it out myself. All this after being a frequent patron of the Gold Passport Membership program. I don't recommend anyone to stay here. I will personally never do it.

Stayed: August 2013, travelled with friends

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Ask Arsh07 about Hyatt Amritsar

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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

G M, General Manager at Hyatt Amritsar, responded to this reviewResponded 26 August 2013

Dear Guest,

At the onset, I would like to thank you for choosing to stay with us and taking out your valuable time to share your feedback. I am extremely sorry for the poor experience that you had during your stay with us. The points highlighted by you are understandably quite disturbing. I have taken a careful note of your comments and necessary steps have been initiated to ensure that such incidents are not duplicated with any of our guests in future. We deeply regret that we fell short in our service and were unable to provide you with the experience we pride ourselves on.

I request you to give us another chance to make up for this experience of yours by visiting us once again and allow us to serve you better, this time.

We all at Hyatt Amritsar look forward to the pleasure of welcoming you back and hearing from you soon.

Best Regards,

Bhagwan Balani

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

Stayed at Hyatt Amritsar on long weekend and I thing we did a rite thing to choose this hotel. It's just 10 mins away from Golden Temple by car and next to one of the biggest mall of the city with huge food court and we don't have to go to Bharawan da dhaba coz they got a branch on the mall. There was lot of rush at the time of check in but the manager Kunal managed it in such a smooth way that it was a easy thing for him, we were having 4 rooms and Kunal gave us the rooms like in less than 5 mins . He's a local person and can ask about the city . He made our 2 itinerary in such a way that all the places were covered in 2 days .. Thank you to him for all the planning and hospitality given my old parents and us . Will recommend this hotel for families for sure ..

Stayed: August 2013

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Ask Worldtraveller77770 about Hyatt Amritsar

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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

G M, General Manager at Hyatt Amritsar, responded to this reviewResponded 26 August 2013

Dear Guest,Greetings from Hyatt Amritsar!

At the onset, I would like to thank you for choosing to stay with us and taking out your valuable time in evaluating our product and service. We are delighted to read your great comments about our hotel and are happy to know we were able to deliver to you the Hyatt service standards we pride ourselves on. It is our constant endeavor to make our esteemed guests stay memorable.Your compliments have been passed on to Kunal from Front Office whom you felt deserved recognition for the services provided to you during your short stay with us. We look forward to the pleasure of your continued visits and assure you of our best services at all the times.

Best Regards,Bhagwan Balani

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We arrived to the hotel and we got free upgrade to pool view room wihtout even asking. The rooms are small but very comfortable and clean. The hotel is placed near a mall in alpha one center. The golden temple can be seen from the hotel, but you need a taxi to go there.The stuff is very helpful and is willing to help in any situation. We had a problem with the taxi to our next location, and since the driver's english was poor, they helped translating him.

The internet is not free, but the hotel has complimented us with 1 hour with no charge.

We would recommand you to stay in this hotel if you are staying in Amritsar. It is like being in haven after being in Amritsar's streets.

Stayed: August 2013, travelled as a couple

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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

G M, General Manager at Hyatt Amritsar, responded to this reviewResponded 26 August 2013

Dear Guest,Greetings from Hyatt Amritsar!

At the onset, I would like to thank you for choosing to stay with us and taking out your valuable time in evaluating our product and services. I am glad to learn that you had a comfortable stay with us as it is our constant endeavor to make our guests stay memorable and enjoyable. Your compliments have been passed on to the team, whom you felt deserved recognition for the services provided to you during your short stay with us.

We look forward to welcoming you back soon.

Best Regards,Bhagwan Balani

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

The Hyatt in the recent past has bought out the old Ista and is now running the Hotel under the name of Hyatt, Amritsar. The glorious days of great service and an always smiling Ista staff are well past.

The hotel does have hang-ups and the staff is not particularly friendly. The Hyatt runs less by its staff and more by a 'book of rules', which is awfully strange for the hospitality and service industry.

The front desk is slow and sluggish during check-in. The executives manning the front office are busy and don't have time for you. Allow for a minimum of 20-25 minutes for check in. Forget a glass of water the staff won't even acknowledge your presence for the first 10-15 minutes during check in. I had my first run-in with the staff when they refused an early check-in which was confirmed by the Hyatt Amritsar an evening before. They were not willing to even agree to the fact that someone at Hyatt Amritsar had committed to an early check in. After several rounds of back and forth with the travel agent, arguments we managed to get a check in which was about an hour earlier than norm. All this while my wife and child were waiting patiently at the reception after an early morning flight to Amritsar.

The ambience at the Hyatt is drab- all brown and dreary. The corridors leading to your room/s are stuffy and non-air conditioned.

The hotel is not particularly friendly to families!!! They have an open lounge bar adjacent to the reception area. The lounge bar is not frequented by many except for guests who are staying at the hotel. I was travelling with my wife and 7 year old and after we ordered our drinks, we were curtly told by the bartender that children are not permitted. While I do understand that children are usually not permitted in bar areas, this bar was really an extension of the reception area (an open plan)and it does not play loud music. My wife and I had to speak to by son and ask him to leave the area. We were stuck with our drinks eager to finish so as to get back to my son. In the meantime my son was getting more and more frantic with the temporary separation. While rules need to be followed, application of rules need good judgement which is totally lacking at the Hyatt, Amritsar. The bartender could see that the child was comfortable without his parents but didn't even suggest a solution. I asked him if we could carry our drinks to the reception area since the lounge is really an extension of the same area. He flatly refused saying it was not permitted. Well guess what Hyatt Amritsar, the dont dos are fine but you need to come up with solutions and workarounds!!! It was a waste of time and money sitting at the bar as we couldn't really enjoy ourselves constantly looking out for our boy. As a result we never visited the bar again during our stay at the Hyatt Amritsar.

The first day we asked for water and we learnt that the Hyatt for some strange reason doesn't give you more than four 500 ml bottles of water a day. The fifth bottle onwards is payable. For a hotel that charges the rates it does this is absolutely insane to say the least.

The swimming pool on the 1st floor is a laugh. It's hardly a swimming pool. I've seen small swimming pools in hotels but this is miniature. So, if you think you going to spend some great time with your loved ones at the pool side- forget it! Don't even carry your trunks, its a waste if you have already committed yourself to the Hyatt Amritsar.

Make no mistake the happy days of Ista are well past. This hotel is rumoured to be run in collaboration with a local politician who visits the hotel frequently. This too inconveniences your family because the hotel staff is absolutely 'dogged' about security. We must have entered and exited the Hyatt premises at least 18-20 times during our stay and they checked are baggage and did a thorough scan each time. For a family that is staying at the Hyatt, I felt it was excessive. The tight security is possibly an outcome of the politican's frequent visits. And as always the one thing you can count on the Hyatt for; is the 'application of rules' without judicious reasoning. The security at the front door won't take into account that you are travelling with a family and living at the Hyatt, they'll go ahead and scan you and open your baggage, ladies handbags, mobile handsets, run laptop bags through X-ray scanners, the works each time you enter the Hyatt, Amritsar.

Lastly, we has to catch a train at 5 in the morning and unfortunately we could get the cities Mega Cabs to send us a taxi. They were all booked for the the morning. The rates for the distance from Hyatt to the Railway Station (about 4 kilometers- places in Amritsar are close by) varied between Rupees 350-500/- including night/ early morning charges. The Hyatt got us a cab for a whopping Rupees 920/-. We told them of the prevailing rates but as usually you can count on the Hyatt front desk to be opaque and impervious to what you say.

A hotel of repute never overcharges it's guests especially when it comes to services which are not a part of their core business. Infact, top hotels are usually protective about their guests. However, logic doesn't prevail at the Hyatt, Amritsar all that prevails is the 'drill of duty' and 'following that infamous book of rules' like a battalion in an army. The Hyatt actually over charged us for the cab and the reason was that the Hyatt gets a huge commission from the cab stand they call from. They are out to fleece you and they the don't care attitude is really apparent and in your face.

A word of praise for Kunal Moudgil the front desk manager who did concede and give us that ...well somewhat early check-in. Kunal is the only 'saving grace'.

The rooms are tiny, even smaller than the rooms at Hyatt Mumbai...so you can imagine. It is cramped if you are travelling with your family. Having said that the rooms are comfortable and the air conditioning works. The breakfast is decent, quite good but not the best! I guess its good for Amritsar standards. The room service is efficient, polite, intuitive and willing to oblidge- some rub-off from the Ista days I guess.

I wouldn't recommend the Hyatt, Amritsar. Chose it as your last resort. The Blu Radisson will be way better!

Room Tip: Take the rooms on the higher floors floor 18 and above. Take the rooms facing the back. They are quiet and private. Do not take the option of a pool facing room. The pool is a sham and you'll end up paying for something that is not worth it. Buy your own water from the neighbouring Alpha Mall. The hotel starts charging you for water after you consumer 4 bottles of 500 ML.

Stayed: August 2013, travelled with family

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Ask Siddhartha555 about Hyatt Amritsar

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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

G M, General Manager at Hyatt Amritsar, responded to this reviewResponded 26 August 2013

dear Guest,Greetings from Hyatt Amritsar!

At the onset, I would like to thank you for choosing to stay with us and taking out your valuable time to share your feedback. I am extremely sorry for the poor experience that you had during your stay and have taken a carefully note of the feedback you have shared pertaining to the arrival experience, service at the lounge bar and the overall experience you had with us. We would like to share with you that we have initiated necessary training and steps to ensure that such incidents are not duplicated with any of our guests in future. This includes staff member at the check in who should have been accomodating at the time of check in, staff at the lobby bar who should have informed you that children below 18 years of age are not permitted inside the bar at the time of taking the order itself and should have suggested the multi cuisine restaurant. Thank you for your special words of appreciation for Kunal, the same has been shared with him. We deeply regret that we fell short in our service and were unable to provide you with the experience we pride ourselves on. I request you to give us another chance to make up for this experience of yours by visiting us once again and allow us to serve you better, this time. We all at Hyatt Amritsar look forward to the pleasure of welcoming you back and hearing from you soon.

Best Regards,Bhagwan Balani

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

The only reason to choose the Hyatt in Amritsar is the lack of better options. The Hyatt itself is fine enough -- decent and reasonably priced buffets, small but clean rooms. Service from the restaurant is polite but inefficient: a milk order took 20 minutes, even as we were offered the orders from another table. Service from the front desk is disappointing: it took 4 conversations over 2 days, each of which ended up with "we'll take care of it right away" to get an extra child's bed in our room. We would get unwanted calls offering luggage service we had not asked for. Again, the alternatives are not great, but this does not make this hotel good.

Stayed: August 2013, travelled with family

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Ask RavenousFoodie about Hyatt Amritsar

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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

G M, General Manager at Hyatt Amritsar, responded to this reviewResponded 19 August 2013

Dear Guest,Greetings from Hyatt Amritsar!

At the onset, I would like to thank you for choosing to stay with us and taking out your valuable time in evaluating our product and services. I am sorry to learn that you did not have a comfortable stay with us .Your feedback with regards to the service at the Front Office and at the restaurant being inefficient have been noted and discussed with the concerned people elaborately. I ensure you that such an incident will not be repeated with any of our esteemed guests. I would request you to give us another chance for making up for this experience of yours. I assure you that you will surely have a better experience.

We look forward to the pleasure of welcoming you back soon.

Best Regards,

Bhagwan Balani

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC